Trying to get back into regular schedule after Saturday’s Half Marathon, which I need to stay focused as next week is a travel trip to San Antonio for work.. still plan to keep the training going while there, but when our organization puts on a conference, it can be almost 24-7 for a few days.

So right off the bat this morning I am still feeling tenderness in my left shin, not really bad enough to stop. So slow I go out for a 50 minute run, up Pima Road across the canal. I am pleased that my turn around spot is in the range of previous outings, so my time is not terrible (unless it was that bad previously). But oh man on the back stretch, that shin was turning up the complaint factor. Not wanting to push it any more, I walked back, and able to run the last 3/4 mile okay.

So still not putting up the miles. Gave the leg more Ibuprofin, ice, and rest this morning.

Time to turn this leg around!

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The good news is yesterday I completed the Rim Country Challenge Half Marathon in Payson. The bad news is this course (see map) really whipped my butt, and I barely finished. I am not sure if it was the altitude (perhaps, I got here about 36 hours before), my drop in miles this week (resting sore shins), or just that the hills here were hard, but my time was horrible, well over 12 minutes per mile, my last 2 miles closer to 14:30, barely moving.

But I was just determined to finish, i ugh… something like 2:50, whereas the front runners did it in about half of that!

My first mile pace was on target (9:30), but I decided to let it up, knowing there was a steep hill on Airport Road around mile 7. The plan was to pick up the pace after that climb, but there was no juice at all.

The course would back and forth through neighborhoods west of highway 87, almost snake like, climbing up the hilly areas, within sight of the top of the mesa, then dropping again, to leave that hill climb up to the airport. I completely missed a sign for mile 7 in tracking my splits.

At least the views were spectacular, great vistas of the Mogollon Rim (I was in no mood to stop and take photos), and around mile 11 I was doubting I had the energy, and just plodded along to an inglorious finish, somewhere like 5th from last place.

But like I said, I ran the whole 13.1 mile course, and find myself wondering… how the *#$%*@ am I going to go twice this distance? The best news is that I am feeling none of the shin pain I felt last week…

Anyhow, the sad mile splits were:

1. 09:31
2. 11:45
3. 12:10
4. 11:35
5. 12:40
6. 13:05 (neighborhood hills)
7. —-
8. 14:39 (the “challenge” hill(
9. 12:22 (steep descent on Vista Dr)
10. 13:52 (90 second walking rest)
11. 12:31
12. 14:55 (out of gas!)
13. 15:25 (gasp, uphill finish)

Definitely not the most proud moment on the road, and thinking very much about the title of this web blog!

Wednesday night I was still feeling stiffness in my left shin, so I opted out of the Team-D track training for some more rest, ice, advil, ice, rest, advil.

It felt much better this morning (it seems to start up later in the day), but I decided to do a bike ride instead, heading west towards Camelback Mountain, through the shabby neighborhoods of Paradise Valley (that is sarcasm- this is mansion-ville, in PV, the median house price is an order of magnitude larger than elsewhere in town).

I rode, winding on MacDonald north of the big Camel, and down to Lincoln and Tatum, stopping at the Barry Goldwater memorial park, something I had driven past many times, but never stopped at.

That’s a closeup of the hat in hand on Barry’s statue- he is facing southwest looking towards the hilltop home he lived in just a mile from this spot.

Lots of traffic on Lincoln, so I took as many back streets as possible. Again, I’ve not done much biking in the last 18 months, and it feels like I am hitting muscles never used! But it was a great way to spend an hour and ten minutes this morning.

I might do more biking as x-training even when the leg feels better. I like the feeling of going a bit faster than I can just via my feet!

A day of rest tomorrow, and then it is time to test the legs with the Payson Rim Country Challenge 1/2 Marathon.

With continued stiffness in my shin (and good advice from Jerry), this morning I got out my mountain bike for some cross training.

Now, while the blog title remains “I Hate Running” I can categorically say that I have always enjoyed biking! But its been a really long time since I pedaled farther than to the grocery store up the street.

So over the weekend, I picked up as new helmet (old one was cracked), and a new seat puch so I did not need the backback to carry tools and spare tubes, so I could hit the local trails again.

So I had a short ride today as I needed to be home in time to run an online meeting, but wow! I am using muscles that have sat used for a while! But I had a decent ride along the Arizona canal, heading east acrosss the Salt River-Pima reservation from Pima Road. It’s just so peaceful, quiet, and open out there.

So I hope I am up for Wednesday night run and the Payson 1/2 marathon Saturday.

I had full intentions of running this morning, but my left leg did not. The stiffness in my shin is back, so I am giving it more rest, ice, advil. I am also getting my mountain bike back in riding condition as it looks like I might need to shift to some cross training activity.

The weekly runs are inching up in distance. Today, Team-D’s Saturday run was back at Granada Park, with the longest distance run so far, 12 miles.

I ran very conservatively (means S-L-O-W) because of some tenderness still in my shins and knowing I am scheduled to run the Payson half marathon next week. I was doing likely 12 minute pokey miles, but I did ‘em all, and finished with some sprint left. Actually, the shin felt less sore after about 8 miles, and seems to be fine now (or numb).

So this was just to get longer miles in, but certainly in no great form.

Double and then some by the end of the year?

Last night’s weekly track training was good… and hard. We did more work to “find” our pace, aiming to run at a 5k pace a “ladder” a set of 400, 800, 1200 (1,2.3 laps), then 1200, 800, 400 — all at the same pace. I was aiming for 2:25 and thought I was casual on the first easy one– and took it too fast (2:00), but eventually got most of them down to a steady 2:20 (that oner is easier to count 1/2 laps for check ins).

And it was cool to meet Jerry N who has written a few times from finding this blog– wow, is he ever fast on the track! Prbably lapped me 4 times

This morning I am feeling a bit of pain in my left shin, and am taking a day off to rest it, I tried to go out, and it felt awful.

I have a big shout out of gratitude to Gary Rains for providing the first “Platinum” level sponsorship here, so as promised, I am adding a logo for Rains Real Estate to this web site.

Gary is a friend and neighbor up in Strawberry, where we escape to our cabin as frequently as possible. As a local realtor for the Strawberry ERA Young Realty office, he is the man to see about properties in Strawberry and Pine. Contact him at gary.rains@erayoung.net if you are looking for that perfect dream property up north.

Thanks Gary, thanks Mike, thanks Rains Real Estate!

I could here the big engine gunning this morning.

“My shin feels sore…” “I stayed up too late working on that presentation…” “Looks like it might rain…” “Ugh, track training is tomorrow…”

But I was detemined not to take a ride on the Excuse Train, so I headed out for my Tuesday morning 50 minutes. It felt really sluggish on the warm up jog to Chaparral Park, but after stretching, I felt in good form, and did a decent pace on my route up Jackrabbit Road to the canal, and north along to Hayden Road, making my turn around spot another tenth of a mile farther than previous.

Yep, I was on the right train this morning.

Coming home from our 4 day weekend in Strawberry, we pass through Payson. I decided the detour and check out the big hill labeled as “The Challenge” for the October 28 Rim Country Challenge Half Marathon.

It is a steep incline up Airport Road to the top of the mesa where the Payson Airport sites, and offers some stuuningly gorgeous views of the Mogollon Rim, but the uphill looks no more serious than the ones I have beein running in Strawberry, the one out Fossil Creek Road or the ones on the Ralls Road Loop.

Bring it on!